"Well, that is just insulting."
The disembodied guttural voice was the final straw. Twirling around, Tala started screaming in pure fright.
The man standing behind her - he wasn't there before, she knew that for a fact, started screaming too. As her scream was countered and suppressed by his, she stopped. He stopped as well. This ended in them just staring wide-eyed at each other, guarded. This allowed her the perfect opportunity to get a look at her new 'friend.'
He was tall, giant, almost compared to her slightly below-average height. The second thing she noticed was his golden eyes that seemed to give off their own light. His wavy brown hair was longer than she was used to seeing men style theirs nowadays; a few neat tiny braids were here or there, tied together with beads, feathers, and shells. The chaotic mess seemed perfectly appealing on him while utter disaster on anyone else. He was barely clothed, only a fabric that acted as a kilt and shoulder plaid, but also seemed almost toga-like. It was hunter green, with black and lighter green embroidered foliage. It went well with his well-tanned skin, made more evident by the bare chest at her direct eye level. What was even more appealing on the skin was the golden tattoos that adorned his arms and chest. A golden sun in almost tribal patterns went around his upper arm, across his chest, and back over his shoulder. A gold chain wrapped around the forearm several times on his other arm. Glancing down, creeping from his bare feet, was golden ivy crawling up his muscled legs.
A hearty laugh snapped her out of her perusal. Blinking rapidly, she regained eye contact with the man before her, his expression breaking into a wide, toothy grin. His sun-like eyes glowed even brighter.
"Well, that was not the reaction I was expecting, but hey, it was fun!"
"For you…" Tala found herself muttering in reply, just shy of pouting.
This only made his grin seem to grow even more.
Perfect.
She was suddenly reminded that she wasn't great at personable relationships as the silence once again grew before them. Fidgeting, she coughed lightly to clear either her throat or the heavy air. This also seemed to signal to him as his honeyed voice sounded once more.
"Not that it isn't nice to have a guest after so long, I do have to wonder what you're doing here…or how you got here at all, actually."
Yeah, that was a fair question, as she also would be asking if someone just got bifrosted into their immortal garden.
"Well…" She began, stopping as she tried to pull her thoughts together into a reasonably coherent explanation. "Well, I honestly have no idea. One minute, I was walking to take a lunch break, and the next, I was floating in oblivion. It was a weird zero-G-not-zero-G place with absolutely nothing, and after that, I just - BAM - was here. No falling or moving, just was now in this place, not that nothingness. And I have no idea where even here is or what here is. I also didn't know what that blank place was either-"
"Hmm, yes…that makes perfectly no sense whatsoever." He nods, interested, as if what she had just spewed out was logical at all. Tala wilted a bit, mumbling to herself.
"Okay, so yeah, I have no clue where I am, why I'm here, or how to get back. Nothing major."
"Ah, so you can make proper sentences when communicating verbally! Excellent!"
Tala glared viciously, not appreciating that sass. He coughed and looked away but was obviously holding back a laugh. It only made her glower harder, but that only broke his control, and he started laughing again.
"Little Bird, please stop. You look like a kitten trying to take back your toy. It's seriously too adorable."
Tala spluttered in shame, her embarrassment staining her face and down her neck.
"What-that-just-NO! Shut up…" She looked away off to the side, gazing at the distant water. Don't acknowledge it, don't get angry.
"It is not a bad thing, Little Bird." The man says, getting his chuckles under control. Once again, using that odd term of endearment. "Purely a compliment, I assure you."
She dared to look back at him hesitantly. So he would now act like a gentleman after laughing at her. Sure, whatever, it is his house, after all.
"Despite your vague descriptions," He began, tone turning severe compared to the almost bouncy one from before. "I have a rough idea of what happened. Sorry to say it was most probably my fault." Note: Her glare had returned full force, with more fire behind it than before.
"Calm, calm," He urged, hands up. "It wasn't intentional, per se."
"Oh? Per se?"
"Well, it is a long story, but a while ago - and I mean an immensely long time ago - I was going through, let us say, a 'phase.' Set some traps, hoping the worst on others just so I could get some kicks. I got over it! Changed my ways! Promise! I went back and cleaned up my mess….or at least I thought I had. Seems I missed one or two out there. It is a big universe, so it is under-"
"Can you reverse it?" Tala cut in rudely. "I would like to get home, and while it's fascinating, I have no idea what you're talking about or how you could be responsible for me dimensionally traveling here. If you do have that power, I would like to go home. Now."
Seeing his shifty looks, appearing nervous and guilty, Tala also got worried.
"Please?" She added, hoping it was just her manners that set him off and not what she feared it could be.
"I wish I could, really I do. You seem like a great person, honest. I just don't have the ability-"
"BUT YOU DID THIS TO ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!?!"
"Ah yes, well, I made it, like I said, a long time ago. I've been weakened since then and am not the young man I used to be. Also, I'm under a 'condition,' so I can not save up any more power for later. Like I said, I would definitely send you back if I could. Truly." Despite Tala falling apart in sadness and anger, she could feel he genuinely wanted to help her.
However, human emotions have little to do with logic most times.
"Oh, so now you're suddenly a weak old man who can't do anything?! Do you need help driving or maybe even doing your taxes? How about the bathroom?! Huh?" She growled at him, getting even more ticked off as she saw him resist a smile at her provocation. Like he was humoring her tantrum.
"Well, if you can't send me back like I would prefer, what are you going to do for me!? I demand and am owed compensation!" Way to sound like a needy Karen mom at the store. Good job, Tala.
His growing smirk vanished rapidly as he slowly began nodding, suddenly deadly serious again, seeming to agree. He was starting to worry her with his bipolar tendencies.
"'Tis true. The blame is entirely on me…However, what could I do for you within my power?" The stranger started pacing back and forth across the walkway. He began to mumble to himself more than to her.
Tala took this time to calm herself down to be reasonably frustrated rather than her blazing fury. The man did apologize, and it seemed there was no use in pissing off the one person who could help her.
As she practiced her breathing exercises, she watched his figure go back and forth. His fine cloth wisped elegantly as he turned sharply. His stride strangely had both the assurance of a predator and the gentleness of a peacemaker. Raising a brow in surprise and appreciation, Tala calmed faster than she thought.
Almost as if his presence was the cause.
In fact, that seemed to be the case.
Thinking about going off alone down one of the many pathways without him sent an unpleasant chill down her spine. Her mind revolted and rejected it harshly. With no evidence or experience of fact, her brain instincts were telling her 'safe-protected-peace-home-good.' Whatever the heck that meant for her. As she had decided before, she would go with her initial decisions over her profound logic in the meantime.
This seemed to mean going along with this strange, friendly old man. She still needed to figure out what that could mean for what he actually was.
Feeling like she was being watched, she looked up, realizing she had been staring off into space while watching his feet. Meeting his gaze, she realized he was studying her intensely. He tapped his chin every second or so as he stared, arms crossed.
Cringing, Tala repressed the urge to take a step back. She was about to open her mouth and demand what he wanted staring at her like that, but he beat her to it.
"What would be your name, little bird?" Still using that nickname? Okay, two could play at that.
"If you must know, Pops, it's Wren Russell. Please call me by my middle name, Tala. I hate my first." The only surprise he seemed to show at that was a few stunned blinks before momentarily smiling gently.
"Hmm, so 'little bird' is not at all a wrong name for you then." He said as he uncrossed his arms from his thinking pose but stared just as intently. Now, she was really starting to get worried. Was he having so much trouble even developing an idea for helping her? Or was it such a bad idea he didn't even dare approach her with it? Seeming to notice her unease, he spoke again.
"Hmm, English of the fourth planet from its sun, Earth." Wait, did that mean she was not even in her solar system? Galaxy? Seemingly unaware of her growing panic, he continued. "It has been some time since I was there, but it is a prime target of those traps I mentioned. Which, I suppose I should explain the circumstances with that. Being the victim of such things, you deserve an explanation at the least."
The man waved his hand off to the side, the green cloth over his arm fluttering. Behind her, she heard a clink and quickly turned about. The intersection where the paths met, which was just a cross shape before, was now rounded into a wide circle. In the middle sat an elegant brown table and set of chairs. Atop the table was fancy tea ware, ready for drinking judging by the steam wisping into the air.
The sudden display of power left her gapping in wonder. Magic, magic was real. Chuckling, the man started walking to the table but suddenly stopped as he reached her side. Reluctantly taking her eyes away from the magic table, she turned them to the magic person beside her.
"My apologies. I asked your name but never gave my own. I'm unaccustomed to addressing myself with names and such anymore. Normally, I am surrounded by those that do not use names. Your world was really the only place I went by a set name for longer than a conversation. Your people called me by Cernunnos, and I took a liking to it." His sentence trailed off slowly as he finished, seeming to be thrown off by Tala's expression.
She imagined it was something like a teenage girl looking at a movie star they met at a corner shop.
"The Lord of the Wilds!? God of Wild Places?!"